What is the most obscure games you own?

Originally Posted by bkrueger
For Alrik:
I own "Der Schatz im Silbersee", an adventure based on Karl May, on 3,5 inch high density floppy discs (never played through it though).

I have that one too, and I guess all the other games by the same dev too. Of course I've read Karl May's novels as a teenager. His books still work, nearly 100 years after his death.
I even enjoyed the movies. These naive, trashy Euro westerns had little in common with the clever books, but they had their special charme. Lex Barker made a career out of them.

Years ago I collected text adventures. Especially the last bigger text adventures by Legend Entertainment were surprisingly playable, thanks to mouse interface and keyword lists.

I also own Tzar, a game which was heavily marketed here in Sweden around the time of its release, and then promptly forgotten as soon as they stopped marketing it. I remember it as being a rather decent game. I also own Imperium Galactica, although I was obsessed by Stars! at the time I bought it, so I kind of forgot about it.

Which makes me wonder how I could forget about Stars!, one of the finest 4X space games ever created (and probably one of the least appealing, from a visual point of view). The game might look like something you would expect to find in excel, but behind the ugly exterior lies an incredibly deep and flexible strategy game about galactic conquest. Much like any other 4X game, you research technology, form alliances with other empires, fight wars against those empires, trade and so on. You have a lot of freedom in how you design your race, deciding birth rate, planetary preferences, research affinities and you have a decent list of advantages and disadvantages to choose from, all handled with a point buy system.

Other games that I'm unsure fits the bill:
Pax Imperia Eminent Domain (also known as Pax Imperia 2)

Robert D Anderson The Legacy of Cthulhu
(not to be mixed up with the excellent, but unfinished, Call of Cthulhu: dark corners of the earth, Anderson the legacy of cthulhu was a German fan game made by a few enthusiasts. The cutscenes were great (live action cutscenes is something that we should see more of), but the gameplay itself was less than stellar).

Branching out a bit. I own an obscure console. The Atari 5200. Like the C64, the 5200 was WAY ahead of its time. I believe the complex controller was its downfall. It kinda looked like a joystick attached to a number pad

Originally Posted by crpgnut
Branching out a bit. I own an obscure console. The Atari 5200. Like the C64, the 5200 was WAY ahead of its time. I believe the complex controller was its downfall. It kinda looked like a joystick attached to a number pad

hehe yes i had one of those too..was great fun..

on that note, i had a Grandstand Video Game system way back in 1978..must have played stunt racer 'til it wore out! Must go and find a picture of that.

Originally Posted by crpgnut
Branching out a bit. I own an obscure console. The Atari 5200. Like the C64, the 5200 was WAY ahead of its time. I believe the complex controller was its downfall. It kinda looked like a joystick attached to a number pad

I had an Atari 5200, and you're right, that controller was its downfall. Not because they were complex though, but rather because they were total junk. I remember both of our controllers breaking within a month. Wikipedia even makes a reference to the 5200's controllers..

The controller prototypes used in the electrical development lab used a yoke and gimbal mechanism that came from an RC airplane controller kit. This simple design gave very nice smooth linear control and was highly reliable. The production controllers were quite different and a great disappointment to the electrical and software development teams. The design of the analog joystick, which used a weak rubber boot rather than springs to provide centering, proved to be ungainly and unreliable. They quickly became the Achilles' heel of the system because of their combination of an overly complex mechanical design with a very low-cost internal flex circuit system.

I agree that the 5200 was ahead of its time though. It could have been a great system if Atari had put more effort behind it.

Arabian Lords- billed as the first bi-lingual (arabic and english language game) made by breakaway games (the maker of many expansion for rts and city builder games) and for years was only available in the middle east. didn't have nearly as much fun with it as i did CC3 Kane's Wrath or even more so Emperor:Rise of the Middle Kingdom—the end of Impression's long line of city builders. looks like you can get it now digitally but it took me a few years to find it on ebay a couple of years ago.http://www.quirkat.com/site/our-games/arabianlords/

also by breakaway games in the vein of the serious stuff they produce for the military/homeland security etc. was an interesting premise of a game for solving problems non-violently based on a book—A Force More Powerful. it does fall into games i own but am still ashamed to have never played it despite owning it for nearly 5 years. http://www.aforcemorepowerful.org/game/index.php

— —-when we figure out how to build guillotines for corporations the new revolution will have begun—-

"A Force More Powerful" sounds interesting to me. Is thre any way to get it nowadays ?

—  Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius  and a lot of courage  to move in the opposite direction. (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)

An action RPG set in a real historical setting during the last years of the Qin Dynasty in China 2,200 years ago, featuring the oldest son of Qin Shi Huang, crown prince Fusu. The player will encounter numerous historical incidents and characters during that time before the founding of the Han Dynasty.

Prince Of Qin ? Oh, an electronics chain here probably still tries to blow out this game - they had seemingly TONS of that game - with some sort of "exclusive neclace", but I didn't want it, since it was an online game.

—  Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius  and a lot of courage  to move in the opposite direction. (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)

—  Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius  and a lot of courage  to move in the opposite direction. (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)

Other obscure titles include Devil Whiskey (not that obscure for Bard's Tale fans), Alien Assault (Space Hulk without the Warhammer brand name), Heroquest PC Game (not the really old one) and a ton of old games that are probably obscure to most people now.

—  Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius  and a lot of courage  to move in the opposite direction. (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)

@CRPGNut I can join you in infamy then because I did as well. It wasn't the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I liked it. I liked how they mixed in trading into this game. Didn't work that great, but wasn't bad.

The biggest complaint I had with GLOI was having to backtrack to the beginning of a few maps after I cleared the quest. Some of those maps were huge and forcing me to waste 5 minutes just walking back to the beginning was annoying.

Gorasul hated that game. Tried to like it, but hated it.

Alright now for an obscure game because it was so buggy, so broken that upon release everyone looked at it and ran for the hills…..except me.

I buy games that are reportedly buggy because people tend to over exaggerate when it comes to bugs (who really cares if it isn't 100% perfect) and I can overlook them because some of the best games I've ever played were buggy as hell in the beginning. This thing called Mistmare was horrible even by Atari E.T. standards. Everything was broken and nothing was fun about it. I still have it on my shelf to remind me not to waste money on obviously broken products.

Originally Posted by skavenhorde
Gorasul hated that game. Tried to like it, but hated it.

It in fact had some very bad reviews. That's why it is obscure. No-one bought it.

—  Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius  and a lot of courage  to move in the opposite direction. (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)